Government of Canada launches call for applications for the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care

Working toward $10-a-day child care for Canadian families

GATINEAU, QC, Aug. 4, 2021 /CNW/ - Child care is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Yet too many families in Canada lack access to affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care. This is an economic issue as much as it is a social one. Without access to child care, parents—especially women—cannot fully participate in the economy and the global COVID-19 pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront. As part of its commitment to build back better through a recovery that leaves no one behind, the Government of Canada wants to ensure that quality and affordable regulated child care spaces are available to all families who need them.

In support of this commitment, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen, announced today a call for applications for the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care.

The Council will play an active role in representing the early learning and child care sector and providing expert advice to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister for Women and Gender Equality. The Council will also serve as a forum for consultation on issues and challenges facing the early learning and child care sector as the federal government moves forward with building a Canada-wide early learning and child care system that works for everyone.

The Government of Canada is looking for individuals with knowledge and experience from across the early learning and child care sector to be part of the Council. These experts include:

• academics and advocates, such as professors, researchers and foundation leaders;
• practitioners, such as early childhood educators, child care service providers and union representatives; and
• individuals with experience in a caregiving capacity for children aged 0-5, such as parents, grandparents and guardians.

Canadians interested in being part of the Council must apply by September 28, 2021, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

In addition to the Council, the Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care is being established at Employment and Social Development Canada. The Secretariat will serve as a focal point for early learning and child care across the Government of Canada. The Secretariat will both support and be informed by the activities of the National Advisory Council, laying the foundation for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system by bringing together governments, experts and stakeholders to design and implement the newvision.

Quote

" Every child deserves the best possible start in life. Yet as a result of the pandemic, families have faced unique challenges, including having to choose between going back to work, or staying home to care for their children. I'm looking forward to working with the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care as we move forward with building a Canada-wide early learning and child care system to drive economic growth, increase women's participation in the workforce, and ensure parents never have to make that impossible choice again."
– Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Quick Facts

• The Council will include 12 to 14 members, including two co-chairpersons, who reflect Canada's geographic, cultural, linguistic and socio-economic diversity.
• Applicants must possess expert knowledge and experience relating to early learning and child care in one or more of the following streams:
1. Caregiver stream (for example, parents, grandparents, guardians)
2. Practitioner stream (for example, Early Childhood Educators, early learning and child care union representatives, licensed daycare operators)
3. Academic and advocate stream (for example, professors, researchers, foundation leaders, , social actors)
4. Co-chairperson
• The Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based child care system. The federal government will invest up to $30 billion over the next five years and, combined with previous investments, $9.2 billion per year ongoing to build a high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care system across Canada—because parents should not have to choose between working and taking care of their children.
• This investment will allow for an average fee of $10 a day by 2025–26 for all regulated child care spaces, starting with a 50% reduction in average fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces by the end of 2022. These investments will create new opportunities for Canadian families and will enable parents, particularly mothers, to access jobs.
• Investments in child care will benefit all Canadians. Studies show that for every dollar invested in early childhood education, the broader economy receives between $1.50 and $2.80 in return.
• As part of $30 billion in funding, and building on Canada's Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework co-developed in 2018, Budget 2021 proposes to invest up to $2.5 billion over the next five years:
• $1.4 billion over five years, starting in 2021–22, to create up to 3,300 new high-quality early learning and child care spaces for Indigenous families;
• $515 million over five years, starting in 2021–22, to support before- and after-school care for First Nations children on reserve;
• $264 million over four years, starting in 2022–23, to repair and renovate existing Indigenous early learning and child care centres;
• $420 million over three years, starting in 2023–24, to build and maintain new early learning and child care centres in additional communities.
• Budget 2021 also builds on the approximately 40,000 new spaces already created through previous federal investments.
• Budget 2021 committed to tabling federal early learning and child care legislation in fall 2021 to enshrine the principles of a Canada-wide child care system in law.
• To make immediate progress for children with disabilities, Budget 2021 proposes to provide $29.2 million over two years, starting in 2021–22, to Employment and Social Development Canada through the Enabling Accessibility Fundto support child care centres as they improve their physical accessibility.

Associated Links

National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care 
Apply to become a member of the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care 
Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care 
Budget 2021: A Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For media enquiries, please contact: Mikaela Harrison, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]

Related Links

www.hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca